Not All It Seems
by BeastsAndFallenAngels
Summary: Alec lives with his parents and all his siblings, acting like a second parent half of the time. Magnus acts like a parent half of the time too, but that may have something to do with the weekends he looks after his daughter. AU AH highschool Malec, with other TMI pairings and characters. Slight suggested adult themes may occur, this is Malec after all.
1. Chapter 1

**I know that there's a million AU Highschool fics out there, especially focussed on Magnus and Alec but I doN'T CARE because they're my favourite things ever. So enjoy! Also, My knowledge of American highschool comes only from fanfiction and bad movies, so this is set in the UK purely for that reason. (And I'm sorry for all the new characters. I just _adore_ creating characters and I regret nothing). ALSO, Maryse and Robert will probably seem completely OOC in this. Alec isn't completely closeted like he in is the books, because I personally know how awful it feels to be in that situation, and while I have the experience to write that, I want to find writing this fun, rather than a horrible trip down memory lane. Thank you for your understanding and hopefully this will just come across as a new take on a few characters.**

"Eva Rose will you _please_ put your shoes on, _we are going to be late_" Alec sighed, "This is my first day of sixthform and I do not need you making me late. Again, I might add," Eva's lip began to tremble but Alec didn't allow himself to soften. They were all too soft on her too often and Alec was just so sick of being late for school.

Five minutes later- a record, thanks to Alec's resilience- they were in the car. 'They' included Alec's eldest siblings; Jace, his best friend; Isabelle, his blood sister; and Eva, just starting Year Eight and the baby of the big kids. They waved to Maryse who was coaxing the two youngest children into her car. Alec pulled gently out of the driveway, enjoying the purr of his car under his hands. Alec loved his car an awful lot. This was shown in how the shiny red car was spotless, and how even Eva sat up carefully, not lounging like she would in her parents' cars. All of the children had the Lightwood name, but only Alec, Isabelle and little Max had the Lightwood dark hair and high cheek bones. The others had all been adopted into the family. First Jace, then Eva and then baby Joshua.

When they pulled into the school parking lot, Eva scrambled out to run to her friends. They'd had a whole summer together, but as 12-year-old girls, there was always gossip on the first day of term.

Alec's car attracted attention. It wasn't that his car was particularly fancy, not that anyone would dare tell him anything different. It was more that people paid attention to the people inside the car. Not necessarily Alec, who slid from his driver's seat and securely locked the doors, eyeing the other teenagers too close to his precious car. But Jace and Isabelle, who were instantly surrounded. It's not that Alec couldn't have fitted into their little niches, he just didn't relish the attention like his siblings. Isabelle was tossing her hair over her shoulder, flanked by a few girl friends and a few more boys. Jace had the opposite- his guy friends and a few giggling, flirting girls. Alec found himself in contact with them occasionally too- not that their flirting would have any effect. Most of the people at the highschool didn't really seem to understand what Alec meant when he said gay. Either that or they were stupid enough to think they could 'convert' him. Idiots.

Alec's best friends flanked him on either side, Emilia to his left and Aline to his right, and he walked away from his siblings, throwing them a wave, but concentrating more on his conversation. Jace and Izzy's crowd were all mostly Year 11s and still in uniform- navy blue which they somehow pulled off. Alec was happy to be in 'business wear'- A smart black suit and one of his favourite dark jumpers. It was worn but it was comfy.

Alec and his friends were lucky to be in the same form. He and Emilia eyed up the new boys they didn't recognise. Aline sighed at them with distaste. Alec smiled at her, ever the peacekeeper, and asked her about her timetable. They'd each chosen their subjects- Alec had chosen French, English Literature, Spanish and History. He had English Lit with Emilia and Spanish with Aline, so his timetable wasn't too bad. He also knew that he'd be welcome to sit with most people in his lessons, but was sure that he'd probably decline all of them.

They didn't have that many new students in their form. There was a couple of girls, a three boys, none of whom caught Alec's eye. Alec wasn't sure he even had a type. He like crazy musicians and popular actors, sure, but he could never work out what his type was in real life. As a result, Alec had never had a boyfriend, and definitely never a girlfriend. He'd never even been kissed. It was true that occasionally people had made advances, but he was just never into it.

"We have to find Alec someone this year," Emilia decided for him. Emilia was the opposite of Alec. Much like Jace and Isabelle, Emilia had had more relationships than Alec liked to think about. "Think of all the fresh meat,"

Alec winced at the expression, "Or we could not," He silently cursed and wonder why his virginity attracted all these people he called friends, "You know, because it is sort of my choice,"

After form he left with Aline to go to Spanish, which allowed them to have a quiet catch-up sans-Emilia. Alec loved both of his best friends, but he did occasionally need some alone time with each of them. He then had English Literature which was overall just uneventful. He didn't see his friends at break as he had projects from last year to pick up, but instead told them that he'd see them in the common room later. He had a free period next so he'd be up there anyway.

As break ended, the school became crowded with students rushing to their next lessons. The school may have been huge, but the student body was bigger. Too big, Alec reasoned, squeezing his way through a bunch of Year Seven girls. They were stopped in the middle of the corridor, looking desperately around and Alec sighed internally and turned to them.

"Are you guys okay? You look lost," They all looked at Alec with matching startled expressions.

"W-we can't find our way to our maths classroom," A small ginger girl stuttered, flushing, "Its Maths 7"

"I think that's moved to the old history rooms," Alec looked at their blank faces and asked, "Do you know where the language classrooms are?" They all shook their heads.

"Have you not been given maps?" Alec frowned. He thought the school had improved this, "I've got a free, would you like me to show you where maths is?" They all nodded, some rather meekly but a couple of them scarily enthusiastically, "Okay,"

"Are we going to be in trouble?" One of the tiniest people Alec had ever seen asked, "I think we're late,"

Alec stopped wondering how on earth she was old enough to be in secondary school to answer, "Not on your first day, and I'll sort it for you anyway," They were all beginning to look at him like he was some sort of hero. Alec sighed quietly and cursed himself for trying to be a good person. He didn't need six little Year sevens forming a fanclub for him. Still, he pointed out the language classrooms to them, knowing they'd need to go there at some point, and lead them to their Maths classroom. It looked as if the class had already settled down, leaving various gaps where the girls were missing.

Alec knocked and pushed the door ajar.

"Hi Miss," He flashed her a smile, "The girls here were lost so I had to show them the way, sorry that they're late," The aforementioned girls also mumbled apologies and the teacher smiled at them.

"That's quite alright, here's the seating plan girls, find your seats. Thank you, Alec," Alec nodded politely and left the room with a sigh of relief. That was today's good deed done.

As he turned away, one of the girls gave him an enthusiastic wave through the window. Alec groaned.

**I really didn't know where to stop with this, but here seemed like a good place. I hope you've enjoyed this little introduction to Alec's character, and bonus funzies points for anyone who can guess who we're going to learn about next chapter! Reviews are gold dust, I'd love some feedback!**

**-Xena x**


	2. Chapter 2

**I should really be doing English coursework_,_ so I hope you like this chapter.**

**Big love to hockycrazy7 and jaseywantsthiseasy for subscribing already in the few hours this story has been up!**

**Also a massive thank you to Midlife-fan for letting me know that I'd messed up uploading this the first time! Here is the _actual_ chapter 2!**

Magnus sighed at his wardrobe. What even counted as 'business wear'? He was sure nothing that Magnus owned did. He knew that there was strict rules about jeans, so Magnus pulled out a pair of bright red formal trousers, which still hugged his legs, figuring that they would do. He wanted to make an impression. A waistcoat was business wear, surely, and he pulled out a bright blue silky waistcoat, and matched it with a hot pink shirt. He figured the look was okay but then checked his information booklet from the school. He had to wear a tie. Groaning and contemplating changing his whole outfit, Magnus found a red tie that matched his trousers. It'd have to do, he has his hair to work on.

Quietly humming to himself, Magnus gelled his hair into a mess of spikes and added a tiny amount of glitter. Well, tiny by Magnus's standards. He didn't go overboard on his make-up, he was going to school, not to a party. Just a little touch of eyeliner, both black and a sparkling blue. The colour contrasted with his green-yellow eyes. Someone had once told him that they were the colour of dying grass. Magnus had not been impressed, although he'd been inclined to agree.

Moving quietly throughout the house, Magnus tried not to wake his mother, and tried to find something to eat. It was an impossible task, and he found himself eating a muffin that he couldn't even remember buying. It was kind of dry but Magnus was too hungry to really care. He made sure he had some money for lunch- his own money- and locked the flat. The walk to school was thankfully fairly short. It was part of the reason Magnus had changed for sixthform. His old school was either a long walk or a short bus drive, but recently he hadn't been able to afford the bus, and the walk took a long chunk out of his morning. Also moving away from everyone that knew him and his child was a big incentive. Magnus wasn't embarrassed about his baby girl, not at all. Elysia was the reason he lived. But he also wanted to bathe in all aspects of the 'normal' teenage live while he could.

He almost began to regret his decision when the gigantic building loomed up ahead of him. Cars were pulling in and out, obviously dropping students off, although some drove straight through to the carpark. The main front building looked fairly old, but behind it towered newer brick extensions and high, flat roofs. A bus arrived and students flew out of the door, traipsing in excited groups up to school, happy to be back with their friends. Magnus suddenly realised that he didn't know anybody. Which of course was his aim, but at the same time, _he didn't know anybody_.

He found the room he had already been told was his form room in record time, feeling proud of himself for navagating the overfilled corridors so easily. It was amazing how such a big school could be just _so _full of sudents. There was a couple of students already in the room, so Magnus cautiously pushed the door open. There was a teacher with them, he realised, sat on the table in front of the five or six students already present.

"Hi!" She stood up to greet him. She was a young, petite blond but the other students were all looking at her with their respect for her clear.

"Hi, I'm Magnus. Magnus Bane," Magnus introduced himself.

"Oh Magnus, welcome, I'm Miss Sterling, I'll be your form tutor this year. Form hasn't officially started yet, why don't you sit down, introduce yourself,"

Most of the other students had black or grey suits on, aside from one boy wearing a bright green suit. He looked relieved when he saw Magnus's colourful attire.

"I'm Ragnor," Green suit guy introduced himself, shaking Magnus's hand in greeting. Ragnor and a few other students carried on gossiping, letting Magnus in on all the summer rumours and the biggest stories 'he just needed to know' about everyone.

Ragnor showed him to his first lesson, Art, and then left for his own lesson. Art was one of Magnus's favourite subjects, so walked in with the other students confidently.

"Don't bother sitting down yet!" The teacher warned before everyone was even really in the room, "We're going to start on some big pieces straight away today, leave your bags over there, that's right, them come and gather round the board,"

The art rooms were massive, like the rest of the school. Hundreds of paints and drawers of supplies lined the walls, and Magnus eyed a rather large collection of acrylic paints with joy. He loved the texture he could create with acrylic paints more than anything.

The project the teacher was showing on the board was 'portraits' which to Magnus screamed out pencil drawings and big canvases. His favourites. The task she set them for today was drawing a portrait by memory. Magnus was much better as drawing when he had someone in front of him, but he took on the challenge. After a few minutes deliberation he began to draw Tessa, his sister, on the giant canvas. It wasn't like he could draw his mother, wasting away in their flat, and he wasn't prepared to draw Elysia yet, not in school. He hadn't actually seen Tessa in almost a year. His sister, although she was really his half-sister, was at University in Scotland, which as far as Magnus was concerned was a million miles away. She'd left two years ago, and was now in her third year. Magnus didn't blame her for moving so far away. Magnus would move that far if he could, and things weren't too bad at home when Tessa had left. She hadn't known what she was leaving Magnus to cope with.

She came home for Christmas for a few days, and to see Elysia. Their Mother had pulled herself together for the event, waving off Tessa's concerns by claiming she was just a bit ill, that she'd get better.

Christmas passed, and Magnus's mother slunk back to bed, resuming normality. Magnus knew that his mother _was_ ill, but not in a way Magnus could explain, and not in a way that his mother would admit.

Thinking about Tessa distracted Magnus, and he didn't get as far through his portrait as he wished to before the bell rang. After packing up his pencils, he had to run to his textiles lesson in order to not be late. The class was, as Magnus had already expected, full of girls. At least Magnus was enjoying his creative morning. They were peer assessing each other's holiday work. Once he'd received his GCSE grades, the school had accepted him onto his courses and he'd been given holiday work for some of his subjects. Textiles had been one of them, and he gingerly handed his notebook full of sketches over to the girl sitting next to him. The front of hers was glittery and read 'Emilia' in cursive across it. Magnus liked her immediately. Her designs weren't bad either, and she seemed to have a similar taste to Magnus. She'd been designing clothes too- all bright and wonderful, how Magnus liked his own clothes.

"I like this one," She leaned towards him with his notebook in hand, pointing out a design Magnus was pretty proud of.

At the end of the lesson, Emilia turned to her newly acquired friend and asked if he knew where the common room was. Magnus shook his head and Emilia lead him up there. She introduced him to Aline, her friend with long black hair, who seemed nice, although much quieter than Emilia who didn't seem to ever stop talking. After break both girls had lessons, and Magnus asked where he was supposed to go for his free periods.

"We stayed up here this morning," Aline let him know with a smile, "If that helps,"

"It does, thanks," He spotted Ragnor coming in with a couple of others and said goodbye to the girls, "It was nice meeting you Aline,"

**This is slightly longer than chapter one, and I wanted it to be much longer but I also wanted the next part to be in Alec's POV so that won and I had to stop it here.**

**Let me know what you think about Magnus's character, I feel like I haven't characterised him particularly well urgh!**

**Much Love! - Xena x**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm watching The City Of Bones as I write this, and I think I'm actually truly in love with Jamie Campbell-Bower he actually kills me ima **

Alec finally reached the stairs to the sixthform common room and walked up them with lithe grace. The room was full of noise and excited chatter. Only two lessons into the term, not many people had any work to be getting on with and so this free had turned into a social. It was a nice, comfortable room and the atmosphere was equally amiable. At the front of the room, there was a few rows of desks for working at, which most people had ignored. Further back, soft plush chairs were arranged in circles and teenagers were scattered over them. Alec had been up here before, but had been surrounded by older pupils and had found the whole ordeal rather intimidating. Now the room was full of friendly faces who smiled and waved at him. They were all in big groups though, and Alec really wasn't in the mood to talk in a big group. Not that he ever was, but still.

Instead, he jumped up onto the big window ledge and got out the latest book he was reading. He plugged his headphones in and was about to press play on a Halestorm album when his eyes rested on a boy sat across the room.

He recognised a lot of the group, he was friendly with a few of them, especially Ragnor and Caterina. They seemed to have collected all the new students too though, and Alec watched the boy that caught his eye talk and laugh. He was wearing the brightest clothes Alec had ever seen, and his grin seemed to be infectious. He was the only boy Alec had ever actually seen wearing eyeliner, but it _suited_ him. It made Alec want to move closer, to discover the true colour of his eyes which seemed to be changing from green to gold in the light as he moved. In all, he was gorgeous, and Alec considered that he may have found his type. He was actually a little sad that they long longer had to do sports, because he had the incredible urge to watch him chang-

Alec ripped his eyes from the boy and looked down at his book, knowing he was flushing bright red but having no control to stop it. He just hoped that no one was watching. Alec flipped the page, eyes scanning the words but not actually reading them. He wondered if the new boy was gay or not. His appearance pointed to yes- he had glitter in his hair for Christ's sake- but Alec knew looks could be deceiving. Whenever Alec found himself talking about his sexuality, which really wasn't all that often as he did like to avoid the subject, he always received the same 'but you don't _look_ gay' response. Like he was supposed to have a fucking sign on his shirt labelling him. '_I am a homosexual, save your hetero advances for someone else please_'. Maybe he should start wearing glitter in his hair too.

Looking back at his book, he realised he'd turned three pages but had no idea what he'd read, and turned back with a sigh. Peering over the top in what he hoped was a subtle glance, he watched the boy again. He had the most gorgeous skin and Alec just wanted to reach out and-

The boy's eyes flicked up to meet Alec's and Alec blushed even more fuchsia than before, burying his face in his book. Oh God, he'd seen him staring.

Alec trained his eyes on his book for the rest of the free period, refusing to look up. He knew where he would end up looking, and he couldn't risk being caught again. Alec didn't need any hot, colourfully-dressed boys distracting him from his work and his family. Or distracting him from anything really, because that's what was currently happening. By the time the bell rung for lunch, Alec still hadn't looked up and was beginning to feel pretty impressed with his self-control.

Emilia was the first to his side, throwing down her ridiculous pink sachel and announcing she was starving.

Alec gently put his book away and went to greet her, noticing as he raised his head that the boy he'd been studiously avoiding was walking over.

_Oh God, Oh God, Oh God._ He was even more gorgeous up close and Alec still didn't know _why_ he was walking over with that super cute smile on his face.

Emilia jumped up to greet him and they pulled each other into a hug. Alec felt a mixture of relief that he wasn't about to be called out on his staring and complete despair that his best friend had beaten him to this guy.

"Alec, this is Magnus," Emilia introduced, her hand still on the boy's arm, "We're in the same textiles class. Magnus this is my other best friend Alec," Alec felt Magnus's gaze drag up his body and meet his eyes.

"Pleasure to meet your acquaintance," Magnus bowed slightly and smiled at Alec- a smile that morphed into a slight smirk, and Alec knew he was blushing like an idiot.

"Hi," Mumbled Alec in response, mentally berating himself for not being cute and confident and eloquent like Magnus clearly was.

Magnus's smile grew and he shot another appreciative glance at Alec's body. He then announced he was starving and left for the canteen, leaving Alec feeling slightly breathless and incredibly self-conscious.

Magnus didn't show up again at lunch, and Alec didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed. He suffered through double history, which was mostly talking about the course and didn't do anything to catch his attention or distract him from the stupid butterflies a complete stranger had left fluttering round his stomach.

Eva took a million years to get to the carpark after school. By the time she reached the car with her friends, dawdling and chatting, all of her siblings were waiting with identical annoyed expressions.

"Could you literally take any longer?" Jace started ranting instantly, "We've been waiting her forever. Some of us have things to do, places to be, you know?"

Eva looked at her older brother wide eyed and forlorn, while her friends all looked at Jace like he was their own personal God.

"Jace," Alec's quiet voice carried authority and warning, and Jace threw himself into the car dramatically. Alec sighed, more in sympathy of his car than Jace, and watched as Isabelle climbed into the backseat, "Come on Eva, we do need to go,"

He let her say goodbye to her friends as he climbed in the driver's seat and waited until she'd slid in next to Isabelle to start the engine.

The drive home was quiet and luckily short. Jace was still sulking and Eva was still frowning because she'd upset him. When they reached the house, both of them sprinted to the front door and threw themselves inside. Alec winced as Jace slammed his car door and muttered to himself.

"Thanks for the lift Alec we really appreciate you letting us wreck your car, oh no problem guys I love driving you home every day," He sighed in annoyance and locked the car. Isabelle patted him on the shoulder sympathetically and held the front door open for him.

After almost tripping over all the school bags left in the hall, Alec found Jace still sighing angrily in the kitchen.

"Jace, calm down," Alec put a calming hand on Jace's back, making him pause in angrily rifling through the contents of the fridge, "You know it's a good thing that she's made such good friends, you know she struggles, we have to let her have time with them,"

Clear reasoning did not usually resonate with Jace, but if anyone could make him see sense, it was always Alec.

"I just..." Jace collapsed into a kitchen chair and Alec followed, "I'm sorry,"

"I know. It's okay," Jace leant his head against his brother's arm, a rare sign of affection from him. They looked up to find Eva hovering at the door, big brown eyes focussed on Jace.

"Hey, I'm sorry sweetheart, come here," Jace opened his arms for his little sister and she smiled in relief and wrapped her skinny arms around him. They were complete contrasts- Jace with his golden hair and eyes, muscular for his age, and Eva with her dark eyes and hair and her tiny, tiny frame. Alec considered that they sometimes forgot that Eva was almost a teenager and not a little girl. He also thought that maybe sometimes they forgot that Jace was only a fifteen-year-old boy, and nowhere near an adult yet.

"What do you two want for dinner?" Alec fondly asked the pair sat in front of him, "Its my night to cook,"

"Pizza! Your homemade pizza! Please, please!" Eva bounced excitedly from Jace's lap and he winced as her bony limbs bruised him.

"I'll see what I can do, it might have to be ready-made dough though," Alec warned, looking at the clock, "I don't really have time to make any,"

"That's okay, yay, thank you Alec!" Eva hugged her other older brother and danced away upstairs.

"Thanks, Alec," Jace flashed him a tender smile and jumped up the stairs too.

Shaking his head, Alec ran a hand through his hair and went to find some ready-made dough to make pizza for the whole family.

Half an hour later, Alec, his apron (a present from his siblings a few birthdays ago), and a lot of the kitchen, was covered in flour and grated cheese. Alec was a messy cook, but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed it. He'd just finished tidying when Maryse came in with his little brothers Max and Joshua. Max's hair was wet from his swimming lesson and Maryse smiled when she smelt the pizzas cooking.

"You're a star," She smiled as Joshua put his chubby hands to be picked up by Alec.

With instinctive care, Alec swung Josh onto his hips and headed towards the livingroom with him, sparing a glance at the timer on the oven.

Alec had a way with children, that was undeniable. Max talked to him at full volume and full speed about his day as he made his little brothers stay away from the oven while Maryse laid the table for the family.

"Dinner's ready!" Alec shouted up the stairs, leaning on the banister, "Pizza! Eva! Jace, Isabelle, come on!" He promptly moved out of the way so allow his siblings to run down the stairs past him.

Robert, their father, had come home and joined them in the kitchen, and Alec walked in to see his whole family sitting down and passing around pizza over the big table, all laughing and chatting, and realised that sometimes he didn't mind being the oldest, responsible one when it meant he got to see them all happy and smiling.

**This is kind of rushed because now I've watched the movie I'm desperate to re-read the first books so I'm sorry! I hope you've now got a slightly better insight into Alec's character, and maybe some idea of his family dynamics. Also MAGNUS AND ALEC YAY.**

**Every writer needs their feedback, even if its to shout at me!**

**Much love, Xena x**


	4. Chapter 4

**I've already had so many views on this and so many subscribers, I never expected that so thank you every single one of you! I promise that the pace will, eventually, pick up!**

**Midlife-fan your kind words continue to encourage me, thank you!**

When Magnus finally got home from his first day of school, his flat was much messier than he'd left it. He had a thing about the flat being neat, almost as if he could tidy up his life by tidying the house.

He crept through the mess, pushing open doors to find his mother. She wasn't there, that much became obvious. She'd left behind the evidence of her day though- there was a glass on the carpet of the main room and Magnus was thankful for the material saving the glass's fall and therefore saving him from picking up the remains. He got a damp cloth from the kitchen to scrub at the floor and soaked up the alcohol. He hated this.

Once his flat was clean again, he looked in the fridge to see if he still had some pasta left. As a general rule when Magnus made a meal, he made enough to last a few days and kept it in the fridge or maybe even froze it. Sometimes he never actually got to eat it, as he mother tended to occasionally eat the entire contents of the fridge when he was at school.

Deciding it was definitely too early to eat, Magnus passed his mother's door and pushed into his own bedroom. Despite it being tiny, Magnus liked his room. With both his own bed and Elysia's crib in the room, plus Magnus's wardrobe, the room was very full up. The walls were a brilliant light blue but in the corners the paint was peeling.

He also had a small set of drawers next to his bed, which were mostly full of things for Elysia. On top he had an old CD player, and a few CDs he'd found in cheap shops. One of his favourites was a CD by a band called Cobra Starship as it made him feel better on days like this. He pressed play on the machine, ignoring the whirring noise it made and turned the volume up.

He sat down on his bed to draw, just doodling and letting his mind wander. His mind went straight to the cute boy, Emilia's friend, Alec. Magnus wasn't good with names, but he remembered Alec's. He also remembered his blush and those bright, open blue eyes.

There was no way Magnus was in a good place to have an interest in anyone, especially not in cute blue-eyed boys. He'd seen Alec later getting into his car with some younger students, and seen his eyes soften as he interacted with them. Magnus did not need to develop a silly crush on a boy who clearly had his life sorted, and probably wouldn't even look at Magnus twice. Magnus knew that eventually everyone left, so Magnus left people before they could. That was how he worked.

He sighed with frustration at his own stupidity and went to find some dinner.

He didn't bother waiting up for his mother to return, because God knows where she was, and instead got an early night. Curling into his cold sheets and willing himself to fall asleep quickly.

The next day, Magnus's mother still wasn't home. Magnus wasn't particularly worried by this, and instead took advantage of it by singing to himself as he got ready for school. He was sure that today was going to be a good day.

He remained in his positive mood despite the fact that the first person he saw upon reaching school was Alec. He had his arm linked with Emilia's other friend (Aline, maybe?) and they were both laughing. Magnus felt a twinge of jealously and frowned at himself. He would not let this boy effect him.

Instead he headed for his new form room and found Ragnor. His new friend grinned at him in greeting.

"Nice shirt," He complimented and Magnus patted his glittery black shirt affectionately, "Thanks,"

Magnus had double French first and to his annoyance had lost his map. He figured it had probably fallen out in his room, and set out to wonder round until he found his classroom. By some miracle he wasn't late, but he did appear to be the last one there.

He apologised to the teacher and looked up in search of a spare seat. There was a row free at the back, only a boy looking down at his notebook frequenting the hard seats. Magnus asked if he could sit, admiring the shine to the boy's dark hair.

He looked up and Magnus wanted to hit himself. Of course it was Alec. Who else had gorgeous awfully cut hair like that. But he had no choice now, he couldn't exactly change his mind now he'd asked.

"Uh y-yeah sure," Alec stuttered and pulled out the seat for Magnus. Magnus grinned, who said chivalry was dead? Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, as long as he could avoid looking into those beautiful blue eyes. Which was obviously easier said than done.

"We didn't get much of a chance to talk yesterday," Magnus decided to make the most of the situation as soon as the teacher set them on a task, "Sorry about that," He flashed Alec his best smile and watched as the other boy stuttered and blushed.

"You had to get lunch," Alec shrugged. The action was clearly meant to be casual, but Alec managed to drop his pen, spilling ink up his own arm and over the desk, letting out a small _umpf_ of surprise. He reached down to retrieve the pen, and Magnus watched his strong arm muscles flex through lidded eyes. He wanted those arms _around_ his.

_Stop it stop it_ Magnus chided himself, looking away and letting Alec get himself sorted.

"You okay?" He turned back to Alec, watching as he scrubbed at the ink on his arm.

"Fine, I'm fine, I'm just clumsy," Alec sighed and Magnus smiled at him again, idly writing down answers to the questions that the teacher had set. Alec looked over his shoulder, frowning.

"That one's wrong,"

Magnus frowned in response too, and looked properly at the verb conjugation. It was wrong, Alec had been right. He changed the ending and looked back at Alec who was looking a little bit smug.

"I'm fluent in French," Magnus felt the need to point out, "My writing just isn't perfect,"

"_Vos yeux sont d'une couleur magnifique_," Alec bit his lip in an entirely endearing way, and Magnus almost forgot every bit of French he knew other than those few words. _Your eyes are a beautiful colour_.

"_lIs sont comme l'herbe morte__," _Magnus managed to choke out the joke. _They're like dead grass_.

Alec frowned, "No they're not, they're lovely,"

Magnus didn't think he'd ever appreciate being described as lovely, but coming from Alec he didn't ever want to be called anything else.

They continued and finished the questions, and had little time to talk for the rest of the lesson. Magnus couldn't help being a little disappointed, both by the lack of conversation and the relief clear on Alec's face. Maybe even Alec could instinctively tell that Magnus would only be able to bring him trouble.

Nevertheless, Magnus was looking forward to having a good conversation with Emilia.

"Are you spending break with Emilia and Aline?" He asked Alec as they were packing up at the end of the lesson.

"Should be," Alec nodded and Magnus graciously pretended not to notice how difficult he was suddenly finding it to put his pencil case away.

"Mind if I join you?" Alec looked slightly startled and Magnus sighed, "I have textiles with Emilia next,"

As if that was the reason Magnus couldn't stay away.

**It's really late at night and this sucks, but I've spent most of my day reading the first three mortal instruments books because I'm a loser, so excuse any mistakes.**

**I'm back at school next week for a couple of weeks so any feedback will help encourage me to continue writing this instead of actual school work. Your opinions are invaluable to me!**

**Much love, Xena x**


	5. Chapter 5

**In four days this has gotten over 500 views! That's the most amazing thing thank you guys so much!**

**This chapter goes out to linlaverynz and Midlife-Fan, I'm glad you're both enjoying it!**

Alec had been looking forward to the weekend. Jace and Izzy were begging him to go to a party with them tonight, but other than that slight disagreement he was looking forward to a nice relaxing few days. He knew that eventually he'd be spending his weekends working on school work, so he wanted to take advantage of the break while it lasted.

The party was going to be a big one. Alec wasn't usually one to drink, and he certainly didn't appreciate large crowds, so house parties weren't exactly his scene. Then because he so rarely turned up, when he did everyone made it their own personal mission to get Alec drunk, like they took personal offence at someone deciding to be sensible. Anyway, he had to make sure his siblings got home okay, and he was sure that wouldn't be possible if he was almost passed out like they usually were.

The party was at the Fairchild house, as they often were. Jonathan, who was in Alec's year, and his younger sister Clary, who was in classes with Jace and Izzy, often held parties. Knowing both of them, Alec was sure that the parties were usually Jonathan's idea, but Clary always seemed happy to play host. By the end of the night, she was often one of the only other mostly sober people there. She was also totally the reason Jace was so excited to go.

The Fairchild house was only a few streets over from the Lightwoods', so Maryse always let the two, or three as it would be tonight, stay out late and make their own way home as long as they 'stuck together'. As soon as they were home from school, Isabelle ran up to her room to get ready. Alec had no idea how she could possibly need to take so long, the party wasn't even until seven, and Isabelle would want them to be 'fashionably late' anyway. He didn't mind the late bit, it just meant that he had to spend less time at the damn party.

He idly wondered if Magnus was going to be there. Magnus seemed like the sort of person who would be at every party going, but Alec hadn't had the guts to ask him outright. Even if he would be there, Alec refused to let that make him feel any different. It _shouldn't_ make him feel any different, he'd only known the guy for less than a week. While they may have spoken every day, whether at lunch or in French, it wasn't like they really knew each other.

Madame, who was usually fairly strict, never seemed to tell them to be quiet. Perhaps it was because they always still had the answers, but she never said a word even when they were laughing quietly, heads bend over their textbooks in a weak attempt to hide their amusement. Alec was both grateful and also terrified by the lack of distraction from his conversations with Magnus, because Alec had found himself telling Magnus more than he had anyone else in such a short period of time. By now, he was sure that Magnus liked men. Magnus wasn't shy about joking about his various exes or past attempts at relationships, and he'd mentioned plenty of boys. Despite the slight hope this gave Alec, in his eyes it was always a reminder that Magnus was far more experienced and outgoing than Alec.

"Alec, what are you going to wear tonight?" Isabelle burst into his room, disrupting his peace and his train of thought, "I've seen you hanging around with that new guy, is he going to be there tonight? Because he's hot. And you should go for it. Do you _like_ him?" She rushed, leaping onto Alec's bed despite his groans of protest.

"Magnus is just a friend," He sighed, "Stop hassling me, Jesus. I'm going to see when we're eating," He left Isabelle in his room and walked away, pretending not to hear her response.

"You don't have to bite my head off, I was only _asking_. And don't call me Jesus," She shouted after him, flouncing into her own room in a way only Isabelle could.

"You will watch out for them tonight, won't you Alec?" Maryse asked as she pulled the giant lasagne out of the oven. Everything they cooked had to be gigantic to be able to feed the whole family.

"Of course I will," Alec rolled his eyes, habitually reaching for a bowl to cut Joshua's portion into tiny pieces so he could manage it. Isabelle and Jace were perfectly capable of looking after themselves.

"You're such a good boy," Maryse ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead. Both the action and the words made Alec feel about four years old, but he just smiled at his Mother.

Isabelle came down for dinner in just a towel and Alec rolled his eyes again. Was a party really that important that she had to have another shower? Jace appeared in just a tight pair of black jeans and he appeared to even have combed his hair. It was only six and even his brother was already getting ready. Alec considered not even getting changed. Maybe he'd change his school trousers for jeans at least, although that seemed like a lot of unnecessary effort.

After they'd eaten, Jace and Isabelle both raced back upstairs, leaving all the cleaning and tidying to Alec and Maryse.

"When's Dad home?" Alec asked. He didn't like the thought of leaving his Mother with no company once Max and Joshua were in bed.

"Any minute now," Maryse shot him a worried look that Alec pretended not to notice, "You go and have a good time tonight, you deserve it," She patted him on the shoulder affectionately and gently pushed him towards the stairs. He may as well get changed then.

At the back of his wardrobe, Alec found a less worn jumper and a better fitting pair of jeans than his usual pairs. With a shrug, he pulled them on. They weren't as comfortable as usual causing Alec to frown again. He didn't understand how Magnus managed to look so put together all the time, or how one could take that much of an interest in clothes. _Stop thinking about Magnus_, he scolded himself, _you're going to this party for your siblings, that's all_.

At quarter past seven, Jace and Alec were sat side-by-side on the stairs, waiting for Isabelle so that they could leave. She burst out of her room, the closest one to the stairs and screamed.

"You scared me, why are you sat there?"

"We were waiting for you, dearest sister," Jace offered a hand to pull Alec up, "Izzy, you seem to have forgotten a skirt,"

"I'm wearing a _dress_, Jace," She huffed.

"That's not a dress, its a top," Jace argued and they bickered the whole way to the front door.

"See you later Mum!" Alec shouted over his arguing siblings.

"Go carefully!" Maryse shouted back at all of her children, "And no later than two please!"

"Bye Mum," Jace and Izzy rushed out of the house. Isabelle was terrifyingly good at walking in the massive heels she was wearing. In them, she was almost taller than Alec, but Alec had to admit that his sister was so gorgeous that it didn't matter. Thinking about how unfair it was that Isabelle seemed to have inherited all the good looks that Alec didn't, they walked the few blocks to the house.

Jonathan and Clary did admittedly know how to throw a party. They had a big house, as big as the Lightwoods' despite having four less children. The side gate to their garden was held open, and through it could be seen a picturesque patch of healthy green grass. There was a gazebo at the side, and Alec knew that it would connect up to the French doors of the living room. The gate was strung with twinkling fairy lights, as were the legs of the gazebo. The party was clearly in full swing. Teenagers were everywhere; bunched around the long table of drinks at the back of the gazebo; lounging on the sofas in the living room; leaning on the counters in the kitchen. The evening sunlight left everything tinged orange, and glinted off the bottles everyone was holding and that had been left on every flat surface. The trio walked further into the back garden and friends approached them instantly. A few of Izzy's giggling friends took her by either arm and lead her towards the drinks table rather enthusiastically. Alec and Jace took a little longer just to observe the party. Alec was just vaguely interested, but Jace was clearly soaking up the atmosphere and looking for Clary. There were two massive speakers by the door which were connected up to a dock further inside. As a result, the music reverberated right through the garden and into the spacious open-plan house. Spotting some of his friends, Jace hit Alec on the shoulder affectionately and left him to fend for himself.

Looking around, Alec saw Jonathan surrounded by girls in his kitchen. He gave Alec a nod and a grin and Alec shook his head in amusement at the entourage he'd gathered. Alec and Jonathan had never been particularly close, but they'd known each other since they were small. A lot of the families in the area had, but Maryse Lightwood and Jocelyn Fairchild had been friends long before their children had been born. Alec was only a few months older than Jonathan, so they'd often played together as children. When they adopted Jace, they formed a group of three friends. When they moved to secondary school they remained friends but mostly at a distance. The boys had mostly ignored Clary and Isabelle, who used to flounce off to one of the girl's rooms claiming to not have wanted to play anyway. Clary and Isabelle, despite having separate groups of friends within school, were still close. Closer than the boys at least.

Alec watched as Jace walked over to Clary. Jace was usually completely different with girls. He became more witty and charming and reckless and definitely more closed, although Alec was sure that only he could notice the latter. With Clary, Jace was at his best. Even at a distance, Alec could see his posture change to become more relaxed, and he knew that his eyes would soften, becoming more open. It had taken him a long time to become like that with anyone, and Alec was happy that he had. It was a big thing for Jace to open up to someone, and Alec just hoped that Clary understood that too.

Deciding that if he stood next to the speakers for too long he'd end up with an awful headache, Alec decided that maybe one drink would actually help him relax. It wasn't like he'd end up drunk after just one drink.

It was at least half past eight when Alec spotted Magnus. He'd had a couple more drinks, but only weak ones. He was still sober enough to be keeping an eye on both of his siblings and still watch out for Magnus, not that he would admit to doing either. Magnus had arrived in a flourish, wearing the tightest back jeans Alec had ever seen. They were ripped all the way up and Alec wasn't sure if they were fashionable or if Magnus had been attacked by a particularly vicious cat, but he appreciated the tanned skin visible through the gaps. The t-shirt he was wearing had no sleeves and was ripped down the sides, giving Alec a teasing glimpse of Magnus's body. It showed off his arms, which as well as being wonderfully toned, seemed to be covered in glitter. The glitter extended from his arms to his hair, which was in its usual spikes and shimmering slightly red and gold. He was wearing more make-up than he had at school, and out of the restricted uniform he looked good. Much more than good, Alec reasoned, and watched as a few friends approached him. He draped an arm over one of the girl's shoulders and they ventured into the house, leaving Alec feeling slightly hollow with jealousy. Hating the feeling, Alec headed back to the drinks table determinedly.

**THIS CAN'T BE GOOD NEWSSSSS :D **

**I've done exactly nothing towards my coursework today and have instead just written this. And its well over 2000 words!**

**I hope no one's going to object to Jonathan's character! I'm trying to channel as much of the end of both City of Glass and City of Heavenly Fire into this as I can, and I loved the idea of Sebastian/Jonathan after he'd encountered the heavenly fire, so I decided to make him a character similar to the scene Clary sees when they enter Edom. **

**Feedback is appreciated as always!**

**Xena x**


	6. Chapter 6

**I know I've been writing each chapter focussed on Alec or Magnus alternating but I might start to mix it up, because there are certain things that I feel need to be in Alec's POV, and others which make Magnus's POV necessary. Just a pre-warning so that no one is expecting a certain character each time!**

**Thank you to TattleTales for your kind words and also to the anonymous reviewer for your well-placed concern for Alec! ;)**

"_Every night I try my best to dream, tomorrow makes it better, then I wake up to the cold reality and not a thing is changed_,"

Magnus hadn't been to a party in far too long. He used to be at all the parties, and he was the centre of them too, but he had Elysia so many weekends that he hadn't made it to one in a while. Of course he didn't mind, his daughter was so much more important, but he was excited to go out.

To his disappointment, he'd subtly asked around and found that it was rare for Alec to actually turn up at a party. He couldn't say he was surprised, because although he'd only known Alec a week, he could tell that the blushing blue-eyed boy he'd become so fond of was not a party animal. Still, it would have been nice to spend some time together that wasn't within the constraints of the French classroom or within Alec's group of friends. But either way, a party was a party and Magnus had a whole new reputation to work on.

Despite their dark colour, Magnus's favourite pair of jeans was a ripped black pair, and he pulled them on happily. They were terribly tight, but to Magnus were more comfortable than his school clothes. He had a shirt he knew would go with them, and searched through his wardrobe for the red material. It was ripped down the sides too, and Magnus knew it made his arms look good. Convincing himself that he wanted to look good for his own self-esteem, not in case Alec did turn up, Magnus eyed up his coloured glitter and grinned.

Magnus _loved_ parties.

By the time he'd finished covering himself in glitter and perfecting his hair, Magnus was much later than he'd planned. He hadn't planned on being early but he definitely wasn't expecting to be this late. The party was too far out to walk, and so Magnus had to get a bus if he didn't want to trawl the streets for hours. He'd checked and the last bus was at midnight, so he should be safe to get home. Hopefully.

He got some scathing looks from adults on the bus which Magnus cheerfully ignored. It was still summery and warm outside despite Autumn approaching, and so Magnus had left his glittery arms bare of a jacket. An elderly woman looked at him completely horrified and he tried not to roll his eyes.

It wasn't difficult to find the right house. Magnus just followed the sound of a thumping bassline which eventually morphed into a pop song the closer he got. When he was on the right street, Magnus saw the fairy lights sparkling against the sunset and headed for the gate they were wrapped around. Inside, everyone had already clearly had a fair amount to drink. Someone was shouting and everyone's laughter was a little too loud to be sober. People were lounging, and stumbling, everywhere, and Magnus admired the teenage ability to be drunk before Nine PM. He happily soaked up the atmosphere of the beautiful warm twilight infused with the horribly sweet smell of alcohol and confused noise.

Magnus was greeted by a few people he'd made friends with in the past week, mostly from his classes. One of the girls, Camille, almost tripped and Magnus put an arm over her shoulders which were surprisingly cold.

"I need a drink," Magnus announced and the group looked pleased at the prospect of more alcohol.

"C'mon, through here," As they made their way through the crowds of people, Magnus spotted the one person he realised he really wanted to see, but hadn't been expecting.

Alec had clearly made an effort. It was clear to Magnus at least, but that may have been down to the hours Magnus had spent simply watching the other boy. Magnus was surprised to see him with a drink in hand, because as far as he'd worked out Alec never really drunk. Magnus dragged his eyes away as Alec finished his drink and walked out of Magnus's sight. First things first, Magnus needed his own drink, and anyway, the night was young.

Alec balanced on the back two legs of a garden chair, dangerously so, and watched the crowd of teenagers, deep in thought. He had a wonderful vantage point of everything from here, and he was both close to the drinks table but also far enough away that most people weren't bothering him.

Isabelle had accosted him once, but she had drunk even more than Alec so didn't seem too worried that her older brother had almost fallen of the chair when she'd spoken to him. That had been about half an hour ago, and now the sun had almost completely set, leaving the air chilly. Alec didn't seem to notice, but was looking towards the house where most people now were. The more condensed crowd would usually be Alec's main reason for staying outside, but everyone looked like they were having so much fun. And in there somewhere, was Magnus. Alec had seen him stumble outside once, rather elegantly for someone who'd just tripped over the doorstep, but he'd soon gone back inside. It had looked to Alec as if he was looking for someone. Probably the girl he'd been with earlier.

The jealously in Alec's stomach mixed horribly with the alcohol, causing him to stumble as he stood. He knew Magnus could have anyone he wanted, but that didn't mean he had to like it. And it didn't mean that it had to be pretty girls instead of Alec. Finishing of the drink he was holding, which was definitely more vodka than mixer, he poured another drink for himself and made his way towards the house.

Usually Alec would have been vaguely repulsed at the mixed smell of sweat and spilt alcohol, but this time he barely even noticed it. He laughed as he stepped round a couple who seemed to actually be engulfing each other and briefly spotted Jace dancing crazily between the sofas. Alec wondered idly why he wasn't with Clary like he usually would be.

"Alec!" He heard Emilia shout him and he blinked so that he could only see one of her rather than two, "I didn't know they'd convinced you to come!" She tripped a little but was experienced enough not to spill her drink.

"Oops, well I guess they did!" Alec laughed as Emilia grinned back at him, "Dance with me," She demanded.

Alec was sure that he couldn't dance, but he was sure that what Emilia was doing also didn't really constitute dancing. They both shouted with delight when _Teenagers_ by My Chemical Romance came on over the speakers, and Alec realised why people found this kind of confidence fun. By the end of the song he'd lost Emilia but didn't really seem to mind, and he turned and bumped into someone, both of them almost falling over.

"I'm sorry," The boy giggled, then his eyes went even wider than they already were, "Alec!"

"Magnus!" Alec matched the other boy's grin.

"I was looking for you!" Magnus said then frowned like he hadn't meant to say anything.

"That's why I came inside," Alec admitted, knowing that it was true even if he hadn't realised before, "I had to see you, you look wonderful,"

"As do you," Magnus ran his fingers through Alec's messy hair. The action seemed absent-minded but Alec almost stopped breathing and Magnus leaner closer smiling.

"Is this okay?" Magnus asked, their faces almost touching. Alec barely had to nod before their lips were pressed together, soft and sweet in the middle of the harsh light and sound of the room.

"_And the salt in my wounds isn't burning any more than it used to. It's not that I don't feel the pain, it's just I'm not afraid of hurting any more, and the blood in these veins isn't pumping any less than it ever has, and that's the hope I have, the only thing I know that's keeping me alive_"

**ALEC FOUND A HUMAN VERSION OF THE FEARLESS RUNE!**

**I really don't know what I think of this, I had so many different ways this chapter could have gone, and so many different plans for afterwards. I hope this was a little more interesting for you though! Ii used _Teenagers_ because its one of _the_ party songs that always gets played, although I was tempted to use _The Pretender_ by Foo Fighters because that's one of my faves. **

**ANYWAY, I hope you enjoyed, and maybe let me know what you think might happen now!**

**-Xena x**

**PS, I take no credit for the start and end lyrics, they're from _Last Hope _by my one and only true love, Paramore.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I finally got round to drawing a cover photo! It's shocking quality so I might have to do something about that at some point, but still, quite pleased about how a few little parts of it turned out!**

**I'm sorry TattleTales please don't hate me! I promise it will get better!**

Alec opened his eyes on Saturday morning and instantly wished he hadn't. The light pierced his skull like a sword and he recoiled, feeling his stomach roll as he did. Oh _God_, he felt awful, what on Earth had he done to himself. Feeling his stomach heave again, Alec forgot his headache to run to his bathroom and promptly vomit into the toilet. It was there, with his head resting on the side of the toilet, that Alec decided that he had had his first and last drunken night. Never, ever again. Not even when cute boys were concerned. _Magnus_. Alec's head shot up so fast that he was almost sick again. They'd _kissed_. A _lot_. And Alec could only remember parts. Wiping his mouth and flushing the toilet, Alec stood unsteadily and went to find Izzy. She was still in bed and Alec didn't blame her.

"Izzy," Alec checked she was awake and quickly ran to his sister's bathroom to continue emptying his stomach. When he looked up, Izzy was in the doorway offering him a tissue. Alec braced himself for the teasing that was bound to occur but he just got a sympathetic smile.

"I think I need my stomach pumped," Alec groaned, slumping to the cold floor. Isabelle laughed and Alec glared at her.

"This is not _funny_, I think I might be dying,"

"Alec, you're just hungover, come on, here," She offered a hand to help her brother up and Alec took two deep breaths.

"I kissed Magnus," Alec said, watching his sister for confirmation.

"We noticed. I don't know why you look so upset, you seemed to be quite enjoying it at the time," Izzy grinned and Alec collapsed onto her bed, feeling his stomach lurch and instantly regretting the action.

"Can you not tell anyone?" Alec begged and Izzy looked at him with even more sympathy in her eyes.

"I think pretty much everyone knows, you were far from covert. Why does it matter anyway?"

"Because we're _friends_, because I barely even know him, because I don't want this kind of thing right now," _and because I'm not comfortable enough with my own sexuality to even consider myself seeing someone else_.

"And I was drunk, Izzy, that was my first proper kiss and it was drunk at a party and that's the worst part," Isabelle was looking at Alec as if she clearly didn't understand the issue, but she patted his arm anyway.

"Do you fancy something to eat?" She asked.

"Isabelle, my body feels like it's currently rejecting all my internal organs, the last thing I want to do is eat," He saw his sister's slightly hurt expression and softened, "I'm sorry, my head hurts,"

"Wait here," She instructed and ran from the room. Alec admired her motor skills because he was sure she'd had more to drink than him and she seemed perfectly fine. She returned a few minutes later with a glass of water, a packet of paracetamol and Jace. Jace looked almost as bad as Alec felt. He joined Alec on Isabelle's bed and clutched his stomach.

"I think death would be a welcome escape," He announced and Alec was inclined to agree.

"Hey, I saw you with that guy last night," Jace managed to dig at Alec.

"I saw you without Clary," Alec shot back.

"I know," Jace sighed, closing his eyes morosely.

"What happened Jace?" Isabelle joined her brothers as they took the painkillers she held out. There was barely room for her on her own bed.

"I can't remember! Well, I don't know. We fought about something. Something stupid. Probably my fault, it usually is,"

"You'll work it out, you two always do," Alec assured his brother.

"What about you then?" Jace asked and Alec shrugged, "I might just never leave the house again,"

"Where are you all?" They heard Maryse in the hall and Isabelle's bedroom door opened, "Oh lord, look at you lot," She looked at her three eldest children, the two boys laying in their underwear clutching their stomachs and heads and Isabelle folded up onto her pillows.

"You won't feel any better like that, come on get showered and dressed all of you,"

And there went Alec's relaxing weekend.

Monday morning came around far too quickly and Alec had never dreaded school more. He was nervous and anxious and he knew it was because he didn't want to see Magnus. Not exactly that he didn't want to see him, more that he was dreading the conversation about the party. Oh no, Alec definitely wasn't dreading _seeing_ Magnus, in fact usually just the sight of Magnus could cheer up Alec's day. That was what concerned Alec though. He hated the thought of eventually relying on Magnus, of becoming attached and in the end abandoned. He resented the idea of giving his heart away so easily, but he was afraid that it was a little too late.

As he pulled his car into the school parking lot, the first thing he saw was Magnus stood by where Alec usually parked. He considered parking somewhere else, but Isabelle clearly sensed his hesitation from the back seat.

"Alec, don't. Go and talk to him," She advised, offering him an encouraging smile in the mirror.

"Okay," Alec took a deep breath and parked, his siblings quickly leaving. Trying to stop his hands shaking, he locked the car and turned to where Magnus was leant against a bollard. He was stood so casually, showing that he felt none of the anxiety that was currently coursing through Alec's bloodstream.

He looked as gorgeous as always, and Alec took his time to take in his thin, wiry frame and those unusual eyes and those soft, soft lips. Alec may have been drunk at the time, but there was suddenly no problem with his memory. He could clearly feel Magnus's long fingers tugging at his hair, taste the sweet alcohol of Magnus's breath, and feel those lips on his own. The memory was so sharp it sent the blood rushing to Alec's cheeks. He looked up to Magnus, and was startled. He'd moved closer, and was stood only a few centimetres from Alec.

"Alec," He breathed, causing the hairs on Alec's arms to raise and he instinctively stepped even closer, reaching out to Magnus without meaning to, "Hey,"

**This is such an awful place to end this but I have no better option I'm so sorry! My coursework is due in on Monday so I've written this in bits and also not checked it, so sorry for mistakes!**

**- Xena x**


	8. Chapter 8

**There's been well over 1500 views on this in a fortnight, I can't believe that, wow! Thank you all so much for reading this little piece of my mind!**

**TattleTales, you're very sweet, thank you, my coursework is finished now so I can thankfully spend some time on this!**

**Thank you to too, your reviews and enthusiasm were my driving force to finish this. And your questions will soon be answered, I promise!**

**Decided to switch it up with the POVs this chapter, hope that's cool with y'all.**

"I'm sorry," Magnus sighed and Alec paled. This was it. This was where Magnus told him that it'd just been a drunken whim, that he had no interest in Alec really. This is where he broke Alec's heart. "I didn't want our first kiss to be when we were drunk. I'd planned it to be a lot more romantic than that," Alec's heart stuttered.

"W-what?" He was sure he was turning redder by the minute.

"Let me make it up to you, let me take you out for dinner," Magnus smiled at him, the smile unsure but definite.

"For dinner?" Alec wished he could stop just repeating everything Magnus said, and eventually realised that he was being asked out, on a _date, _"I'd like that," He admitted.

"Good," Magnus grinned at him, "Is Friday okay?"

"Perfect," Alec whispered, subconsciously moving his hand slowly to touch the side of Magnus face.

"We have to get to lessons," Magnus pouted slightly, then leaned forward to press a sweet kiss on Alec's lips, "See you in French,"

Isabelle watched from a distance as her brother and Magnus talked. She watched until they kissed, and then relaxed. Alec spent so much time looking out for them, she would never stand to see him hurt. She also knew this was all new for Alec. He wasn't like her or Jace, and secretly Isabelle admired him for his maturity. She couldn't ever remember a time when Alec had seemed young and reckless. He'd always been her older, responsible brother. Like a second parent.

She tore herself away from the sight of her brother slowly bringing his hand to his lips in wonder, and walked with her friends to her form room.

Magnus had been waiting for Friday to arrive all week.

Usually by Friday he'd have Elysia at his house, but her mother had asked if she could bring their daughter over on the Saturday instead. This suited Magnus just fine, leaving the Friday open for his date, although it did upset him a little that he'd only get to see Elysia for two days instead of their usual three. Throughout the summer, he'd gotten used to spending most of his time with his little girl. While he was in school it was impossible to him to look after her full-time, and he always felt a little like he was missing out on her growing up.

Elysia's mother, Anna, and Magnus had not been together for long. In fact, they'd been together for no longer than eight hours, then had woken up and gone on with their lives. They had been friends before, although Anna was older than Magnus and they had rarely been in the same social circles. They were also lucky enough that they were friends now. They both loved Elysia, and had pretty consistent ideas about how to bring her up. Of course they argued, Anna hated Elysia being anywhere near Magnus's mother, and Magnus hated barely seeing his daughter, but they compromised for the sake of their child.

Everything considering, Magnus knew he was lucky. He'd seen parents screaming over the heads of their children, and he had no recollection of his own father, so to have such an amiable relationship with Anna was a rarity that Magnus appreciated.

So when Friday evening finally came around, instead of meeting Anna to collect Elysia, he headed home considering what to wear. He knew before he even got home that he was going to wear his silky black waistcoat, possibly without a shirt, and he was still thinking of trousers when he reached the stairs up to the flat.

It took him every minute he had to get ready, and when the clock chimed seven, he cursed quietly. Alec had offered to drive them, and he was supposed to be meeting him at the end of the road now. He checked his reflection one last time and stuffed his phone into his pocket, running out of the flat, locking it quickly. He reached his meeting point with Alec within seconds, and breathed heavily, leaning against a sign post. He really ought to exercise more.

He regretted that he had to meet Alec out here, but he couldn't imagine Alec in his apartment. He couldn't have risked his mother being home, and he couldn't imagine Alec's face when he spotted any of Elysia's toys, her crib, her bottles. Magnus wasn't ready to share any of that yet.

Alec pulled up next to him with a smile. His car was nice, Magnus had no idea about cars but he knew that it was pretty at least, and he appreciated the deep red colour of the paint.

"So where to?" Alec asked after Magnus had climbed in and Magnus smiled, indicating for him to carry on straight ahead. Alec clearly relaxed as they drove out of Magnus's side of the neighbourhood. To Magnus, these streets were normal, home. But he knew that Alec lived within the big houses, with gardens and neighbourhood watch schemes, and he could understand Alec's concern. The area was rougher than he was used to, but that was okay. The restaurant that Magnus had picked out wasn't too far away. It wasn't fancy, because while Magnus was determined to pay, he hadn't yet been paid his wages this week so his funds were running a little low.

Alec pulled into the little carpark of the Italian carefully, and the pair climbed out. Magnus took Alec's hand and lead him to the front door as Alec looked at him shyly. They were shown to a table and both ordered different Pastas. Magnus ordered a tagliatelli carbonara, knowing this was the best meal he would get for a while. He watched as Alec ordered a simple penne origano and appreciated his date's taste.

They talked, and appreciated their food when it arrived, then talked even more. Magnus admired the way Alec talked protectively of his siblings, and almost talked about Elysia when Alec talked of his baby brother. But he couldn't bring himself to. Alec looked at him with such wide, admiring eyes and Magnus would hate to say or do anything that changed that. They talked for hours, until the sun began to set outside and Alec glanced at his watch. Magnus noticed that it was the only vaguely stylish thing Alec wore, and wondered if his sister had chosen it for him.

"It's late," Magnus commented, thinking how early he would have to be up to meet Elysia. He didn't want tonight to end though. He couldn't remember ever having such a peaceful evening with someone. He'd been on dates before, although he had to admit that often he didn't bother, and had been with plenty of people just in the past few years. But none of them had ever made his stomach tighten with just their eye contact, and none of them had ever made him want to hold them in his arms away from the world. Plenty had made him want to throw them against his mattress, and naturally Alec was no exception, but no one had ever made his heart beat quite like Alexander Lightwood did.

They drove home in a companionable silence, with Alec's music playing quietly. Magnus didn't recognise the song but it was relaxing. They reached Magnus's road and Alec slowed down, pulling to a stop when Magnus indicated to. Instead of getting out of the car straight away, he turned towards Alec.

"Thank you for tonight," Alec spoke softly and Magnus smiled, raising a hand to rest on Alec's cheek.

"It's been my pleasure," He leaned forward to kiss him gently, and Alec leant into the kiss, bracing himself on the dashboard.

Magnus shifted towards his date, deepening the kiss and felt more than heard Alec emit a quiet moan.

"It's late," Alec copied Magnus's words as they pulled back for breath and Magnus laughed shakily.

"It is, I should go," He pressed a chaste kiss to Alec lips and climbed out of the car, "Drive carefully, beautiful" He shut the door and walked to the steps of his flat, watching as Alec pulled away.

**This is really short and rushed, I'm sorry :/ and I've been waiting for fanfiction to start working again to upload it urghhh. But I'm excited to start the next chapter because it should have a little more drama in it! So Ima pour myself a glass of wine and get stuck into it, despite it being almost midnight.**

**Much love, Xena x**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hopefully there'll be some cute Magnus in this, and then some much anticipated drama!**

**I've actually made my way through a few glasses of wine and it's now the early hours of the morning. I remain hopeful that my current state will have no effect on my writing ability. I've written over 2000 words though, so love me.**

**And dear Guest- I hope this chapter is what you were looking for!**

Magnus woke up bright and early on Saturday morning. He was meeting Anna and Elysia in town, and honestly he couldn't wait. He washed and dressed quickly in the quiet flat. His mother was in her room, where she'd been since he'd returned last night. The mess the flat was in had been a damp stain on Magnus's mood, but he'd still felt like he was walking on air. He'd refused to clean up last night, instead retreating to his room to think about Alec and remember the feeling of his lips on his own.

Now he had to face the music. The flat had to be safe for Elysia. His daughter was starting to crawl about, and he didn't exactly want her playing with the empty glass bottles on the floor. Once the flat was clean and tidy, Magnus collected his keys, phone and skeletal wallet and locked his flat, beginning the walk into town.

They met in one of Magnus's favourite coffee shops. He spotted his daughter in her pushchair where she was was waving her little hands at him, and swept down to pick her up. He happily swung the little girl into his arms, kissing her forehead with a smile. Elysia seemed just as happy to see him, resting her tiny head on his shoulder. Magnus always worried that she'd forget him each time they were apart, but she hadn't yet.

Anna stood up to hug Magnus in greeting, gesturing to the mocha she'd already ordered for him.

"You're a star," Magnus grinned, sitting down with Elysia in his lap. Anna knew Magnus struggled with money, but she also knew better than to mention it. Instead she just quietly helped, by buying him the occasional coffees and never asking for anything for Elysia that she knew he couldn't afford. Anna had finished school the previous year, and had a full time job plus the support of her parents. She was much better equipped to look after and fund a child.

However, Magnus couldn't wait until the end of sixth form, when he could finally leave school too and they could split Elysia's care more evenly, even though she'd be almost three by then. After a catch up over the drinks, talking mostly about Elysia, Anna handed over Elysia's big bag and a few last comments, and Magnus took hold of her buggy.

Before anything else, Magnus desperately needed to get some food. His wages had finally appeared in his bank, and he thanked the Lord that his boss paid him weekly, so now he could afford to eat. He'd worked less shifts this week because of not working at the weekend and Elysia was also his main priority, so he made sure to buy enough food for her first, only buying a few little things to keep himself sustained. Magnus was sure that how little he ate was bad for him, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it, and anyway at least it kept him thin.

Afterwards, they headed back to the flat. Magnus knew that Elysia would want a bottle and a nap soon and she was already grizzling in the pushchair. Navigating the flat stairs was no easy task, but Magnus carried Elysia, folding the pushchair with practised ease and managed to keep a hold on all the shopping as he climbed the steps.

Magnus's mother was nowhere to be seen, and Magnus was glad. He wanted Elysia to have a proper family, but he'd rather she had no grandparents on his side than his mother. He loved his mother, of course he did, but she hardly provided a healthy environment for his child. He hoped that she'd be away all weekend, so that he could have some peace with his daughter. Sometimes she'd be away for days and days, and Magnus had stopped worrying about her. She was like a cat- she'd always come back. She also chose her moments to show any affection, and Magnus wished he had a real cat instead.

In the corner of the main room of the flat, Magnus kept an old wooden box full of toys. The box was worn and chipped, and a lot of the toys were too young for Elysia now, but when Magnus put her down she crawled carefully over, pressing her tiny hands against the lid. Magnus laughed, putting the shopping in the adjoining kitchen, and walked over to her. He opened the heavy lid, pushing it right back so that it didn't fall and hurt her. She attempted to peer in and Magnus chuckled again. He sat down on the worn carpet and reached in to pick out her favourite toy.

Magnus was sad to hand Elysia back on Sunday evening. He'd only had one night with her, and he missed not having her as much. So he was delighted when Anna asked if he could look after her after school finished on Wednesday so that she could go into work overtime. Magnus readily agreed, happy that he was going to be able to see his daughter again this week.

Alec's weekend was fairly uneventful. He did his homework and helped out Maryse, but all the time his thoughts were on Magnus. Isabelle had noticed and was teasing him mercilessly, much to his annoyance. By Monday, he was far too excited to see the other boy, but still a little apprehensive. There'd been no mention of what would happen now, and Alec was so new to this. He couldn't shake the worry at the back of his mind that Magnus was much more experienced.

It didn't seem to bother Magnus though, who was leant against a sign in front of the parking space Alec had claimed as his own.

"Good morning Gorgeous," He sauntered over as Alec turned off the engine and Alec caught Jace and Isabelle sharing a look of raised eyebrows.

"Hey Magnus," Alec locked his car and watched his siblings walk over to their various friends without so much as a goodbye. He sighed.

"They should appreciate you more," Magnus slid is hand into Alec's as they walked towards school, "I do," The look that accompanied his last comment was entirely predatory and Alec flushed. He'd never been so entirely _attracted_ to someone like this before.

It soon became clear to Alec that Magnus had previously been holding back on his full flirting capacity, and as a result he spent a lot of the day blushing and slightly dazed. Just a wink from Magnus across the crowded corridors could send his head reeling and cause him to loose any concentration, and Magnus clearly knew.

They continued to talk all the way through French, and most of lunch too. Alec worried that he was neglecting Emilia and Aline, but his best friends seemed immeasurably happy for him.

On Wednesday afternoon, Maryse had a rare work meeting, and so Alec was in charge as soon as they reached home. Maryse handed Joshua over to Alec, promising that Robert would be back by nine o'clock, and herself not much later. Alec waved her off as she rushed to her car, only just running on time. Maryse usually worked from home, but occasionally had these meetings meaning Alec had begun babysitting all of his siblings from the age of fifteen. Although, with Jace and Isabelle being almost his age and Eva turning into a teenager he only really had Joshua and Max to look after.

"How about we have a treat tonight?" He asked Max, joining the younger boy on the sofa, "Do you want to go down the park for a while? We can maybe get a takeaway afterwards,"

Max's small face lit up, "Even on a school night?"

"I'm sure one time won't matter," Alec reassured, "why don't you run upstairs and check if anyone else wants to come?"

Max scrambled up and ran up the stairs shouting excitedly to his older siblings. Alec heard a muted thud from Eva's room, Isabelle shouting something back and Max screaming 'Jace Jace'.

"We live in a mad house, Joshie" Alec told Joshua, who simply blinked back at him, smiling.

"What takeaway are we getting?" Jace asked, letting himself be pulled down the stairs by Max. Alec knew that Jace had a real soft spot for the younger boy, and it pleased him. Jace needed to remember that there were people who needed him.

To Alec's surprise, all of his siblings decided to come along. He was unsurprised that Eva wanted to come, for she was still really just a child and still enjoyed the park even if she wouldn't admit it. But Jace and Isabelle would usually make their excuses until Alec returned with food. Today they made it a family outing, which was entirely hectic, as was everything in the Lightwood house.

The six siblings finally locked up the house and stepped into the sunlit neighbourhood as Alec hung the bag with the essentials for Joshua on the back of the pushchair.

The biggest park, and Max and Eva's favourite, was closer to town, which was a substantial walk, but could keep them entertained for hours. As they walked, Alec realised they were coming closer to Magnus's flat and he absently wished that he could just go and see Magnus.

They finally reached their destination and Alec knew that on the way home when Max was less excited he'd start complaining that his legs ached.

"Come on Jace," Max was now jumping up and down, "race you,"

"Don't go too far," Alec warned them as they started running off, Jace jogging so that Max was ahead. The park was mostly a wide green space with trees dotted around. It had football goals down one end, and play equipment spread around. It was fairly busy, mostly with young children and their parents, but there was also a few groups of teenagers in school uniforms lounging on the benches and the grass, catching the last few rays of summer.

Watching as Eva ran over to the metal bars and began climbing, Alec bent to unstrap Joshua from the pushchair. He wasn't quite yet walking, so Alec pulled him up into his arms and pushed the buggy one handed towards the swings.

"Hey, isn't that Magnus?" Isabelle nudged Alec a little while later. Jace was still playing with Max, and Alec had been too busy watching all of his siblings to look over to where Isabelle's gaze was now.

It was unmistakably Magnus- even from a distance his hair and clothing stood out. Alec and Isabelle watched as he carried a small child closer to the play area. He was holding her in the air and she was waving her arms around in amusement. Alec tried to think if Magnus had mentioned any younger siblings but he was sure he hadn't. Perhaps he was babysitting?

Before he could think any more, Isabelle was shouting 'Magnus!' and the other boy looked over startled. He clearly hadn't noticed them, and began slowly making his way over. He didn't look particularly happy, Alec worried.

"Hey," Magnus's smile wasn't the beam Alec has gotten used to, and it also wasn't his usual smirk.

"Hey, you okay?" Alec asked, voice full of concern.

"Mmhmm," Magnus sighed, distracted briefly by the child clinging to his neck. She watched Alec with careful eyes that Magnus knew were altogether too close to his own.

"What's your name, beautiful?" Alec asked, smiling at the little girl. She smiled widely in response, waving an arm at him.

"This is Elysia," Magnus told him, voice guarded, "Elysia this is Alec, one of the most wonderful people on the planet," She laughed, delighted, and Alec chucked lightly.

"Is she your sister?" Alec asked, without really meaning too.

"Um, no," Magnus looked away, biting his bottom lip, before looking back into Alec's honest blue eyes, "She's my daughter,"

**CLIFFHANGER CLIFFHANGER SORRY SORRY :D **

**This can go two ways now- what do you all want to/think will happen? I'm still deciding between ideas so review and see if you can sway my decision!**

**I appreciate every single one of you!**

**Love Xena x**


	10. Chapter 10

**So many people followed this story last chapter thank you so much!**

**Hockeycrazy7 and TattleTales- Thank you so much for your reviews, I hope this goes how you wished!**

_**Meet me on Thames Street, I'll take you out though I'm hardly worth your time.**_

Alec looked at Magnus in shock, and Magnus simply stared back, terrified that this was it, that he'd blown everything.

On cue, Elysia began to fuss, and then bawl.

"She's probably hungry," Magnus choked out, watching Alec's eyes travel from Magnus to Elysia and back. He wished the blue-eyed boy would say something. "I forgot to grab anything before I just had to get out of the flat my mum-" Magnus blinked, realising that he was saying too much, far far too much. He knew he looked terrified and weak and everything he'd spent years trying not to be. He'd been right to leave the flat, he couldn't have Elysia in the kind of mess it was now, or anywhere near his mother when she was like this, but that didn't mean that he had to tell Alec everything. They had barely even reached the point of saying that they were seeing each other, he couldn't just tell him his life story and scare him away forever.

"Magnus," Alec fell out of his shock, stepping forwards to touch his arm, "Magnus you're scaring her," Elysia was staring at her father with wide, scared eyes and Magnus almost fell. What was _wrong_ with him? Even now, even after the shock of Magnus's words, Alec was most concerned about someone else. Kind, totally selfless Alec. Magnus knew that he would never really deserve this boy in a million years.

"C'mon, let's go and sit down, yeah?" Alec pulled the little boy he'd been swinging into his arms and reached for Magnus's hand. Magnus flinched but let Alec lead him to a bench. He sat down and watched helplessly as Alec curled his legs up onto the bench, baby in his arms.

"What happened?" Alec asked and Magnus looked at him confused. What happened when? Alec saw his expression and continued, "At home. This afternoon, how come you're out here with nothing for Elysia?"

After everything, after Magnus had lied to him, or at least been creative with the truth, Alec was most concerned that Magnus was okay. No one had ever been so concerned about him, and he'd remembered Elysia's name too, even though Magnus had only said it once. It was all suddenly too much for him, and Magnus felt tears build up in his eyes

No. He would _not_ cry. Magnus Bane hadn't cried in five years and he wasn't about to start now.

"My Mum's.. ill," Magnus tried to explain, "She's... its just not the safest place for Elysia at the minute. Mum isn't herself, its not safe for a baby," He knew he was making little sense, but Alec nodded. He was quiet for a minute, peering into the bag he had and producing a packet of rusks, handing one to his little brother and looking at Magnus, clearly asking if Elysia wanted one.

"Please," Magnus whispered, hating how irresponsible he seemed. His mother had been throwing things though, he'd needed to get out. He watched in admiration as Alec spoke to Elysia. Most people, never mind boys, their age would have no idea how to approach a baby. Alec was so clearly different, so clearly better.

"Is it safe for _you_ there?" Alec asked and Magnus blinked.

"Um," Magnus didn't know how to answer, "I'm fine?" He hated the uncertainty in his voice. Of course he was fine, he could take care of himself.

"We're walking down to get a takeaway after this, do you want to join us? I have to feed Joshua, we can feed Elysia too," Magnus wanted to say no, wanted to prove that he was fine and capable and everything else he had to be, but he knew that his mother was still at the flat, and either way he hadn't had time to buy Elysia any food, never mind food for himself.

"I don't have my wallet on me," He sighed sadly, knowing he'd left it in the flat and that there was a high possibility of it being emptied by his mother. She had to buy the alcohol somehow, and she was hardly earning her own money.

"Don't worry, it's on me," Alec promised, and Magnus had no arguments left. He was clear out of fights, and he suddenly felt tired to the bone, so completely exhausted. Alec stretched an arm out, curling Magnus into his side. Magnus accepted, cuddling into Alec and watching as his daughter happily sucked on the biscuit and babbled to Alec's brother.

"What's his name?" Magnus asked and Alec smiled.

"This is Joshua," Alec held the boy protectively close to him as he was doing to Magnus. Magnus didn't need protecting, he'd been doing it himself for long enough, but the gesture was comforting.

"You probably recognise Jace and Isabelle," Alec pointed them out and Magnus noticed the love in his voice, "Jace is over there with Max, and Isabelle has Eva," Magnus was awed at Alec's ability to keep tabs on all of his siblings at once, "I promised Max they could have a while in the park, then we'll grab something to eat on the way home,"

Magnus's stomach rumbled at the promise of food and he realised just how little he'd eaten since Friday, even compared to the small amount Magnus was used to living on.

Only a little while later, Alec stretched and considered he best way to try and round up his siblings.

"Do you look after Elysia all the time?" Alec asked, and Magnus could see him trying to work out how that would work. He shook his head, feeling a piece of hair fall loose.

"Her mother looks after her most of the time, I find it difficult because I spend so much time at school, I only usually get to see her on weekends or the occasional evening. Anna's picking her up tomorrow morning," Magnus explained.

"Do you get on with her?" Alec asked quietly and Magnus squeezed his hand gently.

"She's a good friend of mine, we were only together for one night, we were never a real thing,"

Alec nodded as if this news made sense, and was okay with him.

"Come on, let's go and get some food before it gets chilly, I didn't bring any coats," Alec let go of Magnus's hand to strap Joshua, who was beginning to fidget and whine, into his pushchair and grab the bag. He called over all his siblings who all looked exhausted, in Jace's case, or were protesting, in Max and Eva's cases.

"None of you mind if Magnus and Elysia join do you?" Alec asked, knowing that they wouldn't. As expected, his siblings all simply shook their heads, not asking any questions. They were all used to being looked after by Alec, so it didn't seem strange to any of them that Magnus would also be looking after a baby.

As they walked, the siblings bickered about what food they wanted but settled on Chinese. It was both Jace and Alec's favourite, and therefore also Max's, so all three were pleased, while Eva was pouting.

"I like pizza," She whined and Alec shot her a look, effectively silencing her, and began the battle of choosing what to order.

**This is super short but I'm going to end it here because it feels right, sorry! I miss Jace so I might have a wee bit of Jace time next chapter, I'm feeling it.**

**I do have a little thing to ask y'all about though! I have an idea for a story that I just can't shake off. Before I went too far with it, I was wondering if anything reading this would be interested/if anyone had any advice on the subject. I'm toying with the idea of rival bands, Alec in one, Magnus in another, and writing 'their story' so to speak. If anyone would actually like me to go ahead and write some, drop me a review or a PM because I'd love to hear from you! I also _suck_ at things like band names, so if anyone has any ideas please help me out!**

**Thank you all so much!**

**Much love, Xena x**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you TattleTales as always! Your reviews always make me smile, you're seriously the best!**

**And anyone who let me know about the new story idea, thank you! I've been thinking about it, and I don't think I'm going to be uploading any of it yet, I'm sorry! Exam season is coming up and I start revising as of tomorrow, so all my time will be spent trying to achieve the As I so desperately need to get into uni. Which also means that updates for this story will be much slower. I know I'm not a regular updater as it is, so I really am sorry, but I'm sure you all understand the pressures of real life (ew!). I promise that if this isn't finished by summer, it will get written and completed then! Hopefully I'll still have a little bit of down time to write in, but for now I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

The Lightwood family made Magnus feel much more comfortable than he'd been expecting.

The younger girl, Eva, had turned to him as they walked, asking "Are you Alec's new boyfriend?" causing him to pause and Alec to stutter. Before, Magnus would have cheerfully answered yes, but he wanted to know where he stood in Alec's eyes after today.

"Yes, Eva," Alec told her and squeezed Magnus's hand, eyes questioning. Magnus nodded, letting him know that it was okay. He was relieved, clearly Alec didn't hate him.

They ordered a Chinese, Alec somehow managing to organise the chaos that was his hungry siblings, and carried it back to the Lightwood house in paper bags. The walk wasn't too long for Magnus who was used to walking everywhere, but Alec's youngest siblings were protesting. Loudly. They reached the estate Magnus had come to for the party a few weeks ago and he couldn't help but look up at the houses again in awe. Pushing the pushchair one-handed, Alec threw Isabelle the keys so she could open the door to a particularly big house with a pale front door and neat garden. Magnus couldn't believe that Alec lived in such a massive space, although with a family of eight he supposed it would be practical.

He followed Alec and carried Elysia into the massive hallway.

"Max, shoes," Alec warned and Max pouted, turning from his path to the kitchen to take off his shoes.

They all bundled into the warm kitchen, putting the bags on the big island table in the centre. Jace and Izzy straight away went about getting out plates and cutlery and emptying the bags, while Alec worked around them, finding an appropriate meal for Joshua and Elysia before thinking of himself. Magnus walked round to help him, putting Elysia down on the floor next to Joshua. It was so easy to know that it was safe for her, that he didn't have to do a thorough check for broken glass and dirt. He felt a pang of guilt that he couldn't give Elysia this kind of life all of the time.

The two oldest boys fed the youngest children first while the others all began to devour the food they'd bought home. Magnus caught Alec subtly hiding a portion of what he was sure was beef in black bean sauce and smiled, at least Alec made sure to take care of himself sometimes. Once Elysia had finished the contents of the bowl Alec had handed over, Magnus let her suck on a chip and joined the other siblings in working their way through the table of food.

They were all talking, sometimes all at once, and laughing and joking over the meal. Even Joshua and Elysia were babbling to each other. The Lightwoods were taking it in turns to tell Magnus embarrassing stories, each becoming worse than the last as they began to compete. Magnus told them some stories too, of his old school and friends he no longer spoke to. He couldn't afford a computer, and his phone was purely for emergencies and contacting Anna about Elysia, so he'd found it difficult to keep in contact with the few friends he'd wanted to. He found he had better friends here though, he thought, watching Alec interact with his siblings. Much better. Even Jace, who Magnus had heard a few fairly scary stories about, was acting friendly and open towards him.

After they'd finished eating, they made a group effort to clear away, throwing take out packets in the bin and washing up, covering the kitchen in soapy water. Elysia had started grizzling tiredly, and Magnus picked her up. She nuzzled against his skin and he sighed happily. Joshua began to cry and Alec looked over, hands soaked in the sink water. Jace took this as his cue and picked his youngest brother up with a surprising gentleness, rocking him in his arms.

"He's ready for bed," Alec pointed out, drying off his hands, "and so's this little one," He stroked the side of Elysia's hair and Magnus felt her relaxed sigh.

"Stay the night?" Alec asked quietly, "It's far too late to go back now, and we have plenty of room. I can drive you back over in the morning, I don't want you walking back alone, its such a long way and," He stopped mid sentence, but Magnus got what he was trying to say. He didn't know if Magnus was going to be safe in his flat, and neither did Magnus.

"Okay," Magnus nodded and relented, "We will,"

"Good," Alec smiled quietly, "Jace if I finish clearing up can you get Joshua changed, and found one of his more neutral babygrows for Elysia?"

None of his siblings questioned Alec's authority on Magnus staying over, and instead Jace lead him out of the kitchen and up a flight of stairs. The stairs led to a series of doors, and Jace pushed one open into what was obviously a nursery. It was painted a light, sky blue and was almost as big as Magnus's entire flat. Magnus wasn't jealous, not for himself, but he again wished he could give Elysia something like this rather than just a tiny space in his room. Jace picked out a babygrow for each child, then handed one to Magnus.

"I quite like you, you know," Jace began and Magnus steeled himself for what was coming next, "You seem like a good guy. But Alec is my brother and best friend, and I promise you that if you hurt him we will _all_ make sure you wish you were never born,"

"I'd never," Magnus promised, aware that if they weren't carrying children Jace may have given him a much more graphically verbal warning.

"Good," Jace smiled an angelic smile, and turned to change his little brother.

Magnus and Alec sat together on one of the sofas in the Lightwood's livingroom, a sleeping baby in each of their arms. They were talking quietly, sides touching, enjoying each other's company.

It was nearing nine o'clock, and Max was in bed already. Eva was allowed up until Maryse and Robert returned, and Alec knew she was upstairs with Izzy. He wasn't sure where Jace was, but right now he didn't really mind. He was comfortable cuddled up with Magnus, letting him talk about his daughter. He was pleased to see his boyfriend talking openly and comfortably. His _boyfriend_. Alec wasn't even really sure how he felt about that.

A shrill ring broke the peaceful air of the room, and Magnus scrabbled to get his phone from his pocket before it woke the babies.

"Hello?" Magnus answered his mobile, confusion clear on his face. Alec couldn't hear the voice at the other end of the line, but he watched as Magnus's face collapsed, dread filling his features. Magnus replied into the phone in a strangled voice and soon hung up. Alec was startled to see his usually so bright eyes wet and devastated.

"Its my Mum," He choked out as Alec held him tighter, "She's in hospital, I have to go. I have to go now,"

**This is so short again I'm so sorry but I want the next part in Magnus's POV :( I hate that Magnus and Alec seem to have gotten so close in such little time because that always really stresses me out, but I don't know how to change the time frame to make it better so it will have to do for now!**

**I really, really appreciate all of your feedback, good or bad! I need to know what you all want me to do with this!**

**Much love, Xena x**


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